Manufacturer Says It Will Stop Selling Black Talon Bullets

November 23, 1993|By Washington Post

WASHINGTON — One of the nation's leading firearms manufacturers said Monday that it will no longer sell to the general public the Black Talon brand of the high-powered, hollow-point bullets that have become a rallying point for gun control proponents.

The move was an apparently unprecedented decision by Winchester, which has never before removed a product from the market for any reason besides manufacturing defects, a spokesman for the 125-year-old firm said Monday.

''This action is being taken because Black Talon ammunition is becoming a focal point for broader issues that are well beyond the control of Winchester Ammunition,'' said a statement by Mike Jordan, company spokesman. ''The controversy also threatens the good name of Winchester, which has stood for the safe and responsible use of ammunition and firearms.''

The Black Talon, which expands on impact, exposing sharp edges to maximize damage, has come under attack in recent weeks because of its purported devastating impact on human flesh and its potential to injure emergency room doctors when they remove it.

It is one of three bullets that gun control proponents, congressional leaders and the Clinton administration have targeted recently as possibly too dangerous for public sale. The White House has been studying whether to push for legislation to ban the Black Talon and other similar ammunition, opening a new front in the firearms and violence debate. A bill introduced by Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., would impose high taxes on the purchase of the Black Talon and similar bullets.